The Multifaceted Actions of Curcumin in Obesity.

Obesity remains a pervasive health concern worldwide with concomitant comorbidities such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, inflammation, and other metabolic disorders. A wealth of data validates dietary and lifestyle modifications such as restricting caloric intake and increasing physical activity to slow the obesity development. Recently, the advent of phytochemicals such as curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has attracted considerable research interest in tracking down their possible effects in protection against obesity and obesity-related comorbidities. According to the existing literature, curcumin may regulate lipid metabolism and suppress chronic inflammation interacting with white adipose tissue, which plays a central role in the complications associated with obesity. Curcumin also inhibits the differentiation of adipocyte and improves antioxidant properties. In the present review, we sought to deliberate the possible effects of curcumin in downregulating obesity and curtailing the adverse health effects of obesity.

Anti-inflammatory drugs in the prevention of post-operative atrial fibrillation: a literature review.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a serious and common complication following heart surgery. Cardiac surgery triggers inflammation in the heart and makes it susceptible to the incidence of AF. Therefore, anti-inflammatory drugs may reduce the rate of AF incidence in the post-surgery conditions. Immunosuppressant agents, steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids), non-aspirin non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), colchicine and omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 UFA) are drugs with well-known anti-inflammatory properties. The efficacy, safety and other aspects of using these drugs in the prevention of post-operative AF (POAF) have been reviewed here. Studies evaluating the efficacy of colchicine have shown that it could be effective in the prevention of POAF. However, there is a need for additional studies to find a colchicine regimen with optimal efficacy and higher tolerability. The use of corticosteroids may also be of value based on the most of meta-analyses. In the case of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and NSAIDs, current data fail to support their efficacy in POAF prevention. Moreover, perioperative administration of NSAIDs may be associated with some severe safety considerations. Immunosuppressant agents have not been used for the prevention of POAF. Further studies are needed to find the most effective strategy for POAF prevention with the least safety considerations and the highest health benefits.

Anti-Androgen Drugs in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to systematically investigate whether anti-androgens could significantly reduce Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms compared to placebo or usual care in OCD patients. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) databases were searched up to October 2018 using relevant keywords. All randomized and if not available non-randomized studies conducted on a population including OCD patients who were administered with anti-androgen, which reported changes in their symptoms, were included. The studies on compulsive hypersexuality were excluded. Required data were extracted from full-text of the included articles by two independent authors. One randomized and four non-randomized trials were found. RESULTS: The only randomized trial showed that flutamide, an anti-androgen agent, was effective in reducing compulsion scores in male OCD patients with comorbid Tourette syndrome, compared to placebo. Three out of four non-randomized trials showed that different anti-androgens including finasteride, cyproterone acetate and triptorelin were effective in reducing OCD symptoms. The only study, which failed to show the efficacy of an anti-androgen agent, administered OCD patients with flutamide. Despite the positive results, available studies provide the evidence with low quality based on the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation Working Group (GRADE) approach. CONCLUSION: Available studies are not sufficient for a precise answer to our study question. There is still a need for further large randomized blinded clinical trials to evaluate the effectiveness of antiandrogens in OCD patients. It is recommended that gender, comorbidities and subscales of Yale- Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Score (Y-BOCS) should be considered in designing the studies and interpreting their results.

Application of G-CSF in Congestive Heart Failure Treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a disorder in which the heart is unable to supply enough blood for body tissues. Since heart is an adaptable organ, it overcomes this condition by going under remodeling process. Considering cardiac myocytes are capable of proliferation after MI, stimulation of neovascularization as well as their regeneration might serve as a novel target in cardiac remodeling prevention and CHF treatment. Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF), is a hematopoietic cytokine that promotes proliferation and differentiation of neutrophils and is involved in cardiac repair after MI. So far, this is the first review to focus on GCSF as a novel treatment for heart failure. METHODS: We conducted a search of some databases such as PubMed for articles and reviews published between 2003 and 2017, with different keywords including "G-CSF", "congestive heart failure", "new therapies for CHF", "filgrastim", "in vivo study". RESULTS: GCSF exerts its beneficial effects on cardiac repair through either stem cell mobilization or direct angiogenesis promotion. All of which are capable of promoting cardiac cell repair. CONCLUSION: GCSF is a promising target in CHF-therapy by means of cardiac repair and remodeling prevention through multiple mechanisms, which are effective enough to be used in clinical practice.

Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on DNA damage in patients with depression.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between depression and increased oxidative stress is well known. DNA damage by oxidation factors is an important cause of the aging process in psychiatric disorders. AIMS: Owing to the scarcity of human studies and high inconsistencies in studies of the effects of antidepressants on DNA damage, the current study was undertaken to investigate the effects of depression and its treatment on DNA damage. METHODS: In a 15-week open-label study of citalopram (n = 25) and sertraline (n = 20), levels of DNA damage were measured by comet assay, proinflammatory (Interlukin-6 (IL-6)) and oxidative DNA damage (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG)) markers by ELISA, and gene expression of base excision repair enzymes (8-oxoguanine glycosylase (OGG1) and poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase-1 (PARP1)) by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in healthy control patients (n = 14), with depression at the baseline and the same patients after week 15. RESULTS: DNA damage, 8-OHdG, IL-6 and expression of PARP1 were elevated in patients with depression compared with the healthy controls (p < 0.001). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy could significantly reduce the depression score (p < 0.01), DNA damage (p < 0.001), as well as 8-OHdG and IL-6 (p < 0.0001). Nevertheless, the expression of PARP1 and OGG1 showed no significant changes after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study on the effect of SSRIs on the DNA damage and some of the repair enzymes in depression. Based on the results, depression can cause increased DNA damage. This damage is followed by activation of compensatory mechanisms whereby the expression of DNA damage repair enzymes is elevated. Finally, the treatment of psychiatric disorder by antidepressants can lower the level of oxidative DNA damage.

Could decorin be a biomarker of coronary artery disease? A pilot study in human beings.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Nowadays there is a strong necessity in identifying patients who may be exposed to the risk for future cardiovascular events like progressive atherosclerotic disease. Biomarkers are valuable tools for this purpose. Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is utilized as an important tool for the global risk assessment of cardiovascular events in individuals with intermediate risk. Decorin (DCN) is a small leucine-rich proteoglycan that induces calcification of arterial smooth muscle cell and localizes to mineral deposition in human atherosclerotic plaque. The main purpose of this clinical study was to find out the correlation between Decorin serum concentration and CAC in human for the first time. METHODS: In this study 84 patients with coronary artery disease who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria, entered the study. For all patients a questionnaire consisting demographic data and traditional cardiovascular risk factors were completed. CT-Angiography was carried out to determine coronary artery calcium score and ELISA method was used for measuring DCN serum concentrations. RESULTS: No significant correlation between DCN serum concentration and total CAC score and also CAC of left anterior descending, right coronary artery, left main coronary artery and circumflex was found in the study population (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our results DCN serum concentration is not a suitable biomarker of coronary artery disease. However, more studies with higher sample size are necessary for its confirmation.